


Mending Wounds

by Vogelimkafig120



Category: Octopath Traveler (Video Game)
Genre: 6 Years Before The Start Of Octopath Traveler, AU, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Relationship, angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-10-08 05:05:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17380136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vogelimkafig120/pseuds/Vogelimkafig120
Summary: Therion wakes up after days of being unconscious. However, he finds himself in an unfamiliar area.





	Mending Wounds

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, this is another piece of writing that I had posted on tumblr but forgot to post here. Still have to catch up on other projects but work and studying Japanese has been keeping me busy. Anyway, please enjoy!

“Farewell, Therion! It was nice doin’ business with ya!”

Therion had woken up from a nightmare that revolved around his last encounter with his partner Darius. He panted heavily, his eyes being painful to keep open along with any willpower to move his limbs. He wondered as to how he had survived that fall. From the looks of his surroundings, he noticed a few beds along with a candle lit near his bedside. Also, gray stone walls were adorned with decorated purple drapes. 

The thief tried to rise from the bed but the sharp pain from his abdomen where Darius had stabbed him caused him to retreat back, biting his lip hard in order to quell his groans. However, he growled out his former partner’s name in anger.

“You’re awake!” a woman’s voice rang from a distance as she entered the room in a hurry before being followed by another woman and a man.

“…” the thief didn’t say a word as the blonde woman stood near his bedside, trying to examine his wounds.

“Now, now, Ophilia. You mustn’t overstep your boundaries. Lord Aelfric knows just what he had to endure.” the man recommended with a smile on his face.

“It’s amazing that you’ve survived.” a brunette woman commented, her expression calm and collected.

Already annoyed by their unexpected presence, Therion wanted to know as to who they were and where he was because his stay wouldn’t last for long.

“Just tell me who you people are and where the hell am I? Therion barked back, clenching his fists weakly.

“I am Archbishop Josef, and these are my daughters Lianna and Ophilia.” Josef answered happily as he gestured Therion to his daughters, the both of them waving him their greetings.

“Well, the both of you don’t exactly look alike at all.” the thief noted.

Lianna began to feel uncomfortable being around Therion, though she couldn’t blame him that much because of his condition. But she would remain civil unless he acted offensively again.

“That’s because I was adopted into their fold. It’s a long story.” Ophilia revealed, a worried expression directed at Therion. 

“That’s believable, then,” Therion digressed, his gaze set to the ceiling, “anyway, how did I end up here?”

Archbishop Josef pulled up a chair before sitting down near Therion’s side, a sympathetic look formed on his face afterwards.

“I was told that the Knights Ardante were on patrol near the clifflands where they found a body that somehow miraculously survived a long fall. There were no trained healers who could deal with your wounds around the vicinity, and so they’ve brought you over to Flamesgrace where someone could treat you. As your healing had progressed, they needed a place for you to stay afterwards, and I guess you already know the rest.” the archbishop revealed.

“How long was I out?” Therion wondered, a bit amused though he felt grateful that they weren’t aware of notoriety as a thief.

“You were unconscious for three days,” Ophilia answered, scooting closer to the archbishop’s side in order to examine Therion’s current state, “and I can’t imagine just how famished you are.”

Therion merely nodded in response as he hated to admit that Ophilia was right, he was hungry and thirsty. Even though he couldn’t put his trust into them, he had to make an exception in order to ensure his survival. From what his dreams had told him, it was unsafe to confide in others.

“My sister has been monitoring your progress since the day that they’ve brought you here. She’s just that kindhearted towards others, if you ask me.” Lianna mentioned, much to Ophilia’s embarrassment.

“Ophilia would never leave anyone to their own suffering. She would ensure their assistance, no matter what it took.” Josef supported his daughter’s statement.

“I’m quite enthralled, to say the least.” Therion remarked humorously, albeit sarcastically.

Archbishop Josef rose from the chair, motioning for Ophilia and Lianna to follow him. “We’re only going to prepare you a decent meal, Therion. Don’t worry, we’ll be back.”

The family had left Therion’s side, leaving him to his own devices. He sighed in displeasure, conflicted if he should confide in them at least a bit, especially to that Ophilia woman. He felt flattered to know that someone was concerned about his well-being, but at the same time he needed to guard his walls in order to avoid another moment like what he had with Darius. Again, the mere thought of his former partner had brought the thief unquenchable anger but also lament.

An hour passed until the family came back with a hot plate of food along with water for Therion to consume. The thief ate his meal in haste, slightly worrying the trio but were understandable due to him being without food and water for such a considerable amount of time. If their eyes had deceived them, they swore that they saw a smile, or at least a smirk, form on his face. Ophilia felt a bit of elation to know that a steady amount of progress was being made.

However, as the weeks passed by, Therion had made no effort in socializing with either Ophilia, Lianna, Josef, or anyone in general. Ophilia would often find Therion brooding in his room of stay, and as much as she wanted to know as to what was plaguing his thoughts, she decided to not pry in his affairs out of respect. The family had tried to convince him to attend service but to no avail. Lianna started to grow fed up of Therion’s pessimistic attitude but she kept the thoughts to herself.

There were nights where Ophilia had woken to the sound of screams coming from the other side of the church. When she entered Therion’s room, he was wracking erratically in his sleep, cursing out a certain name that she couldn’t decipher. Although she tried to console Therion, he pushed her aside, demanding her to leave the room. It had pained the cleric to witness him in such a broken state but he relented to his wishes to remain alone, though she swore that she heard him sniffling whenever she exited his room.

It wasn’t until one day when Ophilia had managed to convince Therion to join her in a stroll around the town. Therion merely agreed because he managed to gather enough resources to make his exit soon enough, and it wouldn’t hurt to sightsee for just a bit. Truth be told, he didn’t mind Ophilia’s presence unlike the rest. Even though he told her to not bother in divulging anything from him, she would be at his side in silence, much to his bewilderment. Her reasoning was so that he didn’t act irrational and that having a companion around was remedial. 

“This way!” Ophilia had interrupted Therion’s thoughts as she dragged him to a trail that led the two to a hilltop.

“Why are you so giddy into showing me this?” Therion asked, unamused. To him, it was just a hill that overlooked the cathedral in where he was staying at.

Ophilia stared at the cathedral before turning herself towards Therion’s direction, a smile beamed at him.

“Ok, why did you bring me here?” Therion asked again, starting to feel annoyed.

“Do you ever think of a place that has any significance in your life?” she questioned, causing Therion to form a smirk at her.

“Well, the cliff where I got knocked off is pretty significant to me,” Therion jested until he saw the sorrowful expression on Ophilia’s face, “hey, I couldn’t resist. Just trying to lighten the mood, is all.”

“I see,” Ophilia stated, feeling terrible of herself for bringing back awful memories to Therion, “but the reason why I’ve brought you here is because I can understand what you’re going through.”

Therion’s expression became curious, wanting to know as to what she meant by that statement. He did recall that Ophilia was adopted by Archbishop Josef, which begged the question on what happened to her real parents, though he wouldn’t pry her of that info.

With a sigh, Ophilia began to explain why she held the hilltop in such high regard. She felt tears prodding her eyes but she swallowed her sorrows in order to press forward.

“My parents were taken away from me due to a terrible war. I was the only surviving member of my family,” Ophilia started, smiling sadly to the thief, noticing the change in his expression, “the Knights Ardante brought me over to Flamesgrace where I was placed in the care of Archbishop Josef. That’s how I met Lianna as well.”

The thief didn’t have a snarky remark to give to the cleric, nor anything to say at all. In fact, he looked at her with a stoic expression on his face. He refused to interfere as he heard Ophilia out.

“There were times where I’d give anything to see my family again. I refused to interact with Archbishop Josef, Lianna, or anyone for that matter,” she continued, the dam of her tears flowing down her face, “I wanted to isolate myself from this world, feeling that all hope was lost to me.”

Ophilia’s expression became hopeful and content, her gaze fixated on Therion’s. “However, one day, Lianna decided take me to this very hill, where she told me that it was, and still is, her favorite place. She went on to explain that no matter the ordeals that we’d have to experience, we’ll always be family. Because of that, not only did she make me realize the values of life, but she also saved my very own.”

Looking away from her, Therion felt sympathetic for Ophilia, unaware of how much she had to endure at such a young age. “I’m sorry, truly.”

“Thank you, Therion,” she replied happily, her hands clasping together, “to be honest, I was expecting a sharp retort or so.”

“I’m not that cruel, ya know,” Therion chided, nodding his head sideways, “besides, I can relate to ya in a way.”

“What do mean by that, Therion? Pray do tell.” Ophilia asked curiously, making a few steps towards him.

Therion merely chucked as he grinned softly at her, crouching down in order to grab a handful of snow before rising up again.

“I have no recollection of my parents. In fact, I was left to fend for myself ever since my childhood. Day and night, I had to make ends meet in order to survive in this damned world. Some have it lucky, meanwhile others don’t. Living is never easy.” he revealed, dropping the snow as if it were sand. 

The sudden revelation shocked Ophilia, causing her to cover her mouth. It was horrible enough to lose her parents, but to know that there were those who’d forsaken their child, she couldn’t fathom the thought.

“I-I’m truly sorry to hear, Therion. Words cannot convey just how much of a burden that you have to carry.” Ophilia responded somberly as she tried to reach a hand towards Therion until he retracted away from her touch. 

“No need for your sympathy. I’ve been doing fine on my own since then.” Therion retorted, relaxing his hand down when he saw Ophilia taking the hint to back off.

“Even then, it doesn’t hurt to have someone to confide in.” Ophilia remarked as she looked away from him slightly, failing to notice him recoil a bit at her statement.

“If only it was that simple.” the thief replied curtly, recalling his confrontation with Darius.

“Just take those words into consideration, please. Perhaps it could aid you as it did to me.” she advised as she turned her back to him, staring at the cathedral. 

Walking forward to her side, Therion had to admit that the hilltop did provide a good view of the church. He wondered if he would ever find solace in his life, especially after Darius’s betrayal. But his stay in Flamesgrace would come to an end soon.

“Not too shabby.” Therion commented, smirking afterwards.

As the days went by, Therion had tolerated Ophilia’s presence, allowing her to keep him company as he tended to his affairs, though he kept his plan a secret from her. Aside from their rough childhoods, they also shared a common interest in apples, often carving figures together. However, when Ophilia entered his room in hopes of initiating another activity together, she only found a note and a bunny-shaped apple sitting on Therion’s bed. 

“T-Therion, where did you go?” Ophilia uttered, looking around room for any signs of him before grabbing the note from his bed, proceeding to read the contents of it.

If you are reading this, them I’m long gone from this town. Sorry, but I wasn’t expecting to stay for a long period of time. I give my best regards to ya and to others. Maybe one day we’ll run into each other again, but not now. Nice knowing ya, Ophilia. – Therion

Ophilia sat on the bed, the note clutched to her hands while her head was downcast to the floor. She should had expected the outcome but she wished that it wasn’t the case. All that she hoped for was a safe travel for Therion.

“Even if you don’t believe in the Sacred Flame, may it guide you to wherever you go.” Ophilia whispered morosely, her direction gazed at the bunny-shaped apple before proceeding to place it in her hand, admiring just how intricate it was designed.

Therion stood at the exit of Flamesgrace, adjusting his scarf as the cold air blasted his body. He turned his back away from the town, letting the wind guide him to his next destination, but not before the thought of a certain cleric plagued his mind. However, he brushed it off, following the notion to never put his faith in others because it would only lead to heartache in the end. Trust could be such an intoxicating weapon to use against others.


End file.
